Judg. 6:11 And there came an angel of the LORD, and….Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

Judg. 6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

We often hear Jesus’ words quoted from Matt 22:14:

“For many are called, but few are chosen.”

But have you ever considered WHAT God calls you when He calls you?  When God calls people He always calls them something.  He either changes their name to focus them on a new identity or tells them something about themselves; something He sees in them that He wants them to see in themselves.  It’s always something that, if they follow, it will lead them into God’s will for their life.  And what God calls you is ALWAYS greater than what you see of yourself.

God called Gideon…mighty man of valor. Judg. 6:12

He called Mary…highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Luke 1:28

He told Peter, “You are Peter (a rock), and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”  Matt. 16:18

He told Abraham, “…I have made thee a father of many nations” … Rom. 4:17

Before God can send you to do great things He must put great things within you.  As Christians we serve just as He did.  We have picked up the mantle of His ministry.  It was that very mantle that fell upon us in the upper room, on the Day of Pentecost.  In placing God’s greatness in you, He has changed you.  And it is what He has changed you into that He calls you to do.  He called Gideon a “Mighty man of valor” for a reason.  And Gideon went on to bravely lead Israel out from under Midianite domination.  He called Abraham the “Father of nations” for a reason.  And Abraham went on to bring forth his first son, Isaac, at 99 years old.  He called Peter “a Rock” for a reason.  And Peter settled into a solid pillar of faith and courage.  He called Mary “Favored of the Lord” for a reason.  And Mary took the favor of God and raised Jesus with it.

God always begins with a vision of you that is greater than you.  One whose largeness humbles you before Him.  Then what He calls you to do comes from who He says you are.  So as Gideon, you look through the perils to the largeness of God.  He has given you His assurance: you are “The mighty man of valor - I Am with you”.  And as you move out into obedience to the call, you become precisely who God says you are.

What God calls you imparts faith to your heart if you will receive it.  Then when you take up that faith and obey His call it transforms you into who He says you are.

In the New Testament every Christian is a Gideon, and the entire New Testament is an amazing declaration from God of WHAT  He calls you.  ”More than a conqueror…overcomer……healed by His stripes……able to do all things……victorious over Satan……complete in Him…a holy nation……the Body of Christ…”, are just a few of the things God calls you.  If you believe and receive them into your heart; if they cause you to look through the peril at the largeness of God; if you take up the faith they bear in your heart; then through them, you can do whatever He asks you to do.  You will become precisely what He calls you.  Anyone can “believe in God”. But only those who let Him tell them who they are will have “faith in God”.  Faith believes what God says, over the circumstances.  Belief waits for God to do what needs to be done.  But faith does it.

When you let God tell you who you are, you will be one of the few He chooses out of the many He calls.

“For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Stay On The Path

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Our Identification In Christ by Nick Champlin
1 Comment »

1 Pet. 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner ofconversation;

1 Pet. 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

1 Pet. 1:17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judges according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

1 Pet. 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

1 Pet. 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

The distance between Heaven and Earth… …is measured in Conversations.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Taken from yesterday’’s message…

All we have to do, to have an environment which is fatal to lies and insincerity, is to let God arise in our conversations. The Holy Spirit flows on the verbal currents of truth and sincere love. It takes more than speaking the right things – it takes the right things speaking.

How intently the Lord desires our fellowship to center in Him and our conversation to never be far from His Word.  Our conversations are the highways between Heaven and Earth.  Thoughts of Him may sooth our minds but conversations of Him supply our lives.  The Lord draws near to conversations that invite Him.  Think of the two disciples, walking and talking together about Jesus, on the Emmaus Road:

Luke 24:15 And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.

What did Jesus mean when He spoke of the authority that would be present when we gathered together in His Name?

Matt. 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Surely gathering in His Name is coming together in conversation.  And look at what Jesus promised to do! “…there am I in the midst of them. ” We simply cannot ignore the premium that the Bible places on conversation.  It is literally the medium of the Presence of God - the currents on which His Presence flows.  When David said:

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!…for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore. Psa. 133:1,3

He is talking about believers working at, and achieving, unity of faith in their conversation.  And look at the awesome promise attached to that place called ‘conversation’: “…THERE the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.”  Do we need God’s blessing and Life?  Well He has already commanded it to rest upon the unity of godly conversation.  All we need is to dwell THERE.

The Prophet Malachi spoke of a time and condition where the wicked seemed to succeed and even prevail in their tyranny over the righteous.  It was as though the wicked seemed to get all the blessings of life.  As a result the righteous were very discouraged.

Mal. 3:15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.

But then something remarkable happened.  The true believers began to build their conversations around the Lord rather than complaining about the inequity of the prosperity of the wicked.

Mal. 3:16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.

Wonderfully, the Lord drew near and took note of their conversations.  They got God’’s attention. Which is something the wicked could never hope to purchase with all their advantages.  But the righteous obtained God’’s favor and attentiveness through their conversations.  The Lord not only was attracted by their conversations, He took hold of them as His intimate children.

Mal. 3:17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

We must remind ourselves today that when the fear of the Lord motivates us to” speak often to one another” of His greatness, that “the LORD will hearken, and hear it.”

Stay On The Path

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
1 Comment »

1 Pet. 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner ofconversation;

1 Pet. 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

1 Pet. 1:17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judges according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

1 Pet. 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

1 Pet. 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

The distance between Heaven and Earth… …is measured in Conversations.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Taken from yesterday’s message…

When Isaiah the Prophet found himself in God’’s Presence and heard Him call for volunteers, he was smitten with the shocking conviction that his conversations had disqualified him.

Is. 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

What a shock that our conversations cripple us in the Presence of God, and disqualify us from His blessings! But God, merciful and always listening to the words of our mouth, heard Isaiah cry out in repentance. And He removed his guilt, gave him a fresh start, so that the Prophet could enter the Path and go forward.

Paul warned the Corinthian Church to maintain unity and consistency in their collective views and conversations.  That unified high standard of holy conversation would be the platform for maintaining the Presence of God among them.  His anointing would remain with them so long as they all practiced the same standards of conversation.  Otherwise they would lose the Presence of God as they began to splinter into different levels of sincerity and honesty.  It was far more than theology that they needed to stay unified over.  It was the very standard of holy conversation that needed to govern all, from the least to the greatest; or else the presence of the Holy Spirit would diminish greatly.  Here is Paul’’s exhortation:

1 Cor. 1:10 Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; butthat ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

All agree that the tremendous Presence of God that was manifested in the early church of Acts was maintained because of the great reverential unity that ruled the fellowship of these primitive Christians.  They were all “…of one heart and of one soul (Acts 4:32)”.  But what if the unity went way beyond sharing a salvation experience, and they were actually all walking under the same strong influence of the Spirit’s conviction?  What if their unity was also a unity of purity in conversation?  That would mean that they did not lie or represent themselves falsely.  They kept themselves in the Light, no matter what it revealed.  They knew that correction and the sweet grace of the Lord was far better than hiding in the cold isolation of a lie.  In such an enclave of humility and sincerity the Spirit would truly reign unrestricted.  There would be no political pressure upon leaders and no competition between egos.  The minute such things arose; their dedication to godly conversation would allow no room for it to hide and germinate.  Satan, the Father of Lies, would have no access to pollute the Church.  As issues arose they would be quickly resolved before Satan could insert himself,…

Eph. 4:26-27 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.

Being imperfect and making mistakes would never turn into corruption and falling away; the Lord’’s Presence was allowed to bring resolution to each situation.

Sound like a perfect church?  It is. And it’s “perfection” rests in the level of holy conversation they all subjected themselves to. It provided the perfect network for the Presence of God.

James 3:2 any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man…

So how on Earth did we get from there to here???  Look closely at the account of a man and his wife who tried to introduce lying into this early church:

Acts 5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property,

Acts 5:2 and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife’s full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Acts 5:3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land?

Acts 5:4 “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 5:5 And as he heard these words, Ananias fell down and breathed his last; and great fear came upon all who heard of it.

Acts 5:6 And the young men arose and covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.

Acts 5:7 Now there elapsed an interval of about three hours, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

Acts 5:8 And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for such and such a price?” And she said, “Yes, that was the price.”

Acts 5:9 Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they shall carry you out as well.”

Acts 5:10 And she fell immediately at his feet, and breathed her last; and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

Acts 5:11 And great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard of these things.

There has been no lack of speculation about the cause of death of Ananias and Sapphira.  But one thing is certain: their attempted lie ran right into the Presence of the Anointing residing in the conversations of these early believers.  If Ananias and his wife had been met with the humiliation of exposure and reproof they may have admitted it initially but likely would have rationalized their lying after the matter cooled off.  That also would introduce corruption into the conversation of the members.  They likely would have inspired others to side with them in the charge that Peter rebuked them because he wanted their money.  Again, introducing corruption.  But their own lies slew them by taking on the immediate Presence of God.  This was understood by all, and the resulted was that, “great fear came upon the whole church, and upon all who heard of these things.”

People who accept corrupt communications always wonder what was so bad about Ananias and Sapphira’s lie?  They wanted credit for being big givers.  Their egos wanted some attention.  They wanted to use their giving to purchase some praise for themselves.  They wanted to pretend they were “giving” when in fact they were really investing in their own reputations.  Up till then there was only One individual getting glory and “attention”, and it wasn’’t Peter.   Just like in the Garden, when Satan entered that new pristine environment in order to corrupt their conversation, history was about to repeat itself.  Only this time it would take more than one try.  The church would learn that if it didn’’t bow down to corrupt conversation, God Himself would defend her.

Eventually the carnality of man and his insistence upon twisting his conversation to benefit himself, won out.  And the church fell into the hands of men and largely out of the Hands of God.  But to this day Christians and churches everywhere still have the chance to claim their birthright – to possess the Presence of God – and to shut the door on Satan.  All we have to do, to have an environment which is fatal to lies and insincerity, is to let God arise in our conversations.  The Holy Spirit flows on the verbal currents of truth and sincere love.  It takes more than speaking the right things – it takes the right things speaking.

Stay On The Path

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
No Comments »

1 Pet. 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner ofconversation;

1 Pet. 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

1 Pet. 1:17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

1 Pet. 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

1 Pet. 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

The distance between Heaven and Earth… …is measured in Conversations.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path, 

Most of the distinctions between the righteous and the wicked are manifested in forms of conversation.  The most significant differences between those who please God and those who are belligerent show up in conversation.  Remember: conversation is more than mere words.  It’’s how you live manifested in how you speak.

Consider this dramatic list describing end-time society.  As you read it, take note of how many of these qualities are manifested in conversation:

2 Tim. 3:1 You must understand this: In the last days there will be violent periods of time.

2 Tim. 3:2 People will be selfish and love money. They will brag, be arrogant, and use abusive language. They will curse their parents, show no gratitude, have no respect for what is holy,

2 Tim. 3:3 and lack normal affection for their families. They will refuse to make peace with anyone. They will be slanderous, lack self-control, be brutal, and have no love for what is good.

2 Tim. 3:4 They will be traitors. They will be reckless and conceited. They will love pleasure rather than God.

2 Tim. 3:5 They will appear to have a godly life, but they will not let its power change them. Stay away from such people.

And now consider that those who have set themselves under the discipline of godly conversation – not allowing themselves to utter anything that violates Truth, Sincerity and Love, could not possibly participate in these practices.  If you walk in godly conversation you WILL NOT  “be selfish, …love money, …brag, …be arrogant, …use abusive language, …curse your parents, …show no gratitude, …have no respect for what is holy, …lack normal affection for your families, …refuse to make peace with anyone…, be slanderous, …lack self-control,…be brutal, …have no love for what is good, …be a traitors, …be reckless and conceited, nor love pleasure rather than God.” The fact is that you won’’t be able to participate in those things if you maintain godly conversation.  Nor will you want to.

Notice also that Paul, speaking by the Holy Spirit’’s unction, instructs us to “stay away from such people”.  God Himself separates from those whose conversation is evil.  In short, God is not with people just because they keep Him in mind.  They must keep Him in their conversations.

Psa. 50:23 …to him that orders his conversation (lifestyle manifest in communication) aright will I show the salvation of God.

Furthermore, the Apostle Paul warns us Christians concerning our conversations.  He says to the Ephesians, who were known for their zealous love of the Truth.

Eph. 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Paul tells them that their conversations are supposed to supply God’’s grace to the hearers.  This whole concept stems from the fact that we, as the Body of Christ, are under obligation to maintain a redemptive affect through our influence, and not to simply add to the already worthless voices of the world’’s speakers.

So just what is “Corrupt Communications”?

We can classify all corrupt communications under 2 headings: expressing sin and expressing deceit. Expressing sin would be speaking hatred, lust, gossip, blasphemy, slander, false judgment, and the like. Expressing deceit is using our words to build verbal walls behind which we hide the truth.  All insincerity is deceit.  If we maintained true sincerity in our speech there would be few places other than the Blood of Christ, behind which we could hide our failings.  And thus we would spend more time in His Presence rather than wasting time building up our own false presence.

Jesus makes this point with inescapable wisdom when He says:

Matt. 5:37 But let your communication be, ‘Yes, yes’; ‘No, no’: for whatsoever is more than these comes of evil.

Corrupt communication comes from hearts driven with corrupt motives. They can speak with clever strategy but they can’’t speak with wisdom.  Consider that the corrupt heart must always think strategically before speaking, because it has to keep its motives from being discovered.  Perhaps no greater an example of this exists than Jesus confrontations with the Pharisees:

Mark 11:27 And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walking in the temple, there come to him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders,

Mark 11:28 And say unto him, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?

Mark 11:29 And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also ask of you one question, and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

Mark 11:30 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me.

Mark 11:31 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?

Mark 11:32 But if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.

Mark 11:33 And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.

They could not answer Jesus straight out because their entire approach in the conversation was based on misrepresenting themselves as stewards of righteousness, when in fact they were nothing more than self-righteous, religious tyrants.  So all their conversations had to be “measured” in order to keep up their image.  That’’s a lot of hard unnecessary work.

John makes a powerful statement tying true spiritual fellowship (communion with each other in the Presence of Christ) to maintaining honest and sincere in-the-Light conversation.  No body of believers, who hide behind made-up images and false explanations, can possibly have genuine fellowship that God participates in.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

When Isaiah the Prophet found himself in God’’s Presence and heard Him call for volunteers, he was smitten with the shocking conviction that his conversations had disqualified him.

Is. 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

What a shock that our conversations cripple us in the Presence of God, and disqualify us from His blessings!  But God, merciful and always listening to the words of our mouth, heard Isaiah cry out in repentance.  And He removed his guilt, gave him a fresh start, so that the Prophet could enter the Path and go forward.

Stay On The Path

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
No Comments »

1 Pet. 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

1 Pet. 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

1 Pet. 1:17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:

1 Pet. 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

1 Pet. 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

The distance between Heaven and Earth… …is measured in Conversations.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Conversation (Biblically) is more than words. It’’s the way you live manifested in the way you speak. It includes motive, content and sincerity.  Speech can focus on the mechanics of words in a specific context, but one’’s conversation is the totality of their self-expression weighed in the scales of Truth, Holiness and Love. The Biblical thought of conversation is rooted in one’’s manner of life and manifest in their communications.  In the view of scripture, the transformation of a converted soul is manifested as their conversation changes. The old sinful life is considered as rooted in your “former conversations”.  And the ability to walk in the power of your new life in Christ is based upon reordering your conversation according to godliness.  Remember: conversation is more than just verbiage. It is the real you, manifested in your communications.  And since you control how you express yourself, then you control your spiritual development.

Eph. 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

Eph. 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

Example: A church-going woman can have all the right responses when she’’s “in fellowship”: correct, Biblically accurate, in agreement with the precepts of faith.  But in the privacy of her home and her telephone, she may be openly critical of others.  A church-going man might speak freely about his love for God at church, but avoid calling people he owes when he can’’t pay and ignores people when he fails to keep his commitments.  Your “conversation” from the Biblical view is measured by how well you choose your life and not just how well you choose your words.  An evil man can speak a good word but he can’’t maintain good conversations (lifestyle of speaking).  God weighs deeply the conversations of men.

Matt. 12:34 …how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Matt. 12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

It is amazing to consider how much ink is invested in the Bible instructing us to maintain godly communications.  The reason is because mental, internalized religious faith is too abstract to be useful in day-to-day living.  It’’s easy to have beliefs all sorted out in your mind without applying your tongue to their discipline.  You can easily believe one thing and live another.  But efforts made to discipline our conversation actually end up governing our behavior and life.

James 3:2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.

James 3:3 Now if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well.

James 3:4 Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot desires.

So it’’s no small wonder that the man, of whom God said, “‘I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart, who will do all My will.”’ (Acts 13:22), himself declared:

Psa. 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

David understood the secret of maintaining upright communications.  He knew that God could not abide a false tongue.  And he also knew that the only way he could keep himself tender-hearted before God was to keep his conversation honest and upright.

Psa. 50:23 …and to him that orders his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God.

Stay On The Path

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
No Comments »

2 Tim. 2:1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2 Tim. 2:2 And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

2 Tim. 2:3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

2 Tim. 2:4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The stark contrast that Paul uses is perfect: being “entangled in the affairs of daily life” verses serving Jesus Christ. No servant of God can live for temporal happiness. When happiness is dependent upon having what we want, it enslaves us. We’re no longer free to serve God. How many Christians have broken off their pursuit of God’’s will because they became miserable when they were denied the objects that they tied their happiness to?  What is that Satan can steal from you that will steal away your heart also? What do you want so badly that you won’t serve the Lord with unentangled devotion, if you don’t get it?

The rich young ruler…

Matt. 19:21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

Matt. 19:22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieved; for he was one who owned much property.

Peter…

Matt. 19:27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”

The difference between the rich young ruler and Peter was that the young man had to have certain thing before he could follow Jesus. And therefore he couldn’t be the Lord’s servant, and walked away. Peter, on the other hand, asked what was in store for him, after having left everything, to unconditionally serve Jesus. Believe it, there is a big difference that God recognizes.

We make all our errors in judgment when pursuing happiness is our motivation in life, because we always base happiness on the desires of our flesh - the desires of our body, emotions and mind. And no matter how much we feed it we’re never satisfied, because we were design to love and serve God. More importantly, our flesh is morally blind. It practices no distinction between sin and righteousness.Our flesh would kill Jesus to get what it wants. So if we pursue happiness as our motivation, then crucifying Jesus is likely what we’ll end up doing, along the way, no matter how awful that thought may be to our mind. Our flesh will justify and dominate us.

The servant of God, on the other hand, will always live an “eternal” life. For him,fulfillment will replace happiness as his motivation in life. The servant has eternity in his eyes and sees his life in the context of forever. He feels the eternal nature of his soul and is free from the frantic sense of temporal tyranny that blinds the pursuer of happiness. In other words, the servant of God is not driven by the sense that he only has a few years of life and needs to “get it while he can”. Because he pursues fulfillment of God’s purposes, he is able to settle for the reality that there are some things he may want, need or even be entitled to, but may never have. And he won’t let those losses or shortages drive him into corrupting his life and perverting his soul, in the quest for personal gratification. In fact, God’s servant understands that life is a tragedy, into which Jesus has as a life-line. He’s not thrashing about the stormy waves, trying to obtain some happiness with which to sink. He won’t allow his denials of “happiness” to force him out of his decision to serve Christ’s eternal purpose. The Lord’’s servants view their lives on an eternal plane. They live for God and the glory He designed them for. They see temporal physical life as a period for man to obtain redemption. They don’’t view life as a wind-up toy with only 70 yrs in which to experience happiness before being wound down into nothingness. Their greatest concern, as they view the few years they have in this present world, is to finish their race well, and be on to better things.

Every time we learn of another “servant of God” shipwrecked upon the reefs of adultery, perversion and all the other sirens of happiness, we lament, “HOW does this happen?!” Without diminishing the magnitude of these travesties, the answer is simple. They took their eyes off eternity. They began to be concerned about their own happiness. The non-servant will must surely object to that explanation, and argue, “But we all pursue happiness. That can’’t be what went wrong!” But it is. The pursuit of self-gratification is what the world is drowning in. And no servant of God can swim the same dark waters and remain useful to Christ.

The one who serves Jesus has his eye on eternity. He doesn’’t only see it as a distant abstract reality, but he sees it living in his soul today. The timeless virtues, with which Jesus stunned the people of Palestine, are not found upon the low hanging branches among which people seek happiness in the moment. You just have to look away, a little higher, into the face of Christ, to find the things that bring worth and value to your life. And living with eternity in your eyes is the secret to being a servant.

2 Cor. 4:17-18 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things that are seen, but at the things, which are not seen; for the things, which are seen, are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Stay On The Path

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
No Comments »

2 Tim. 2:1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2 Tim. 2:2 And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

2 Tim. 2:3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

2 Tim. 2:4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Working off of the foundation we’ve laid with the previous installments in this series, we can now see that the servant of God must see his service as an enlistment obligation to King Jesus, and himself as the property of the Kingdom. The military model is one of the most widely used metaphors in the Bible. And though Jesus is called the Prince of Peace and most people equate His disciples as being committed to non-violence, the truth is that the New Testament makes especially frequent use of the military perspective in framing its view of life and ministry.

Faith is spoken of as the “good fight”.  Jesus is said to have “conquered” sin. Trials are spoken of as “battles”. Satan is referred to as “the Enemy”. The regular disciplines of disciples are referred to as “the whole armor of God”. The Bible is called “the sword of the Spirit”. And in our text, discipleship is likened to military “enlistment”.

The essential concept behind using enlistment as a model for discipleship is this. When a citizen enlists in military service his personal liberties are automatically put under the authority of his government. Though he retains his citizenship, he is now the “property” of the government. All of his liberties are now measured out as allowances. In short, he can eat, drink sleep and move about, to the extent that he is given permission. All of his liberties are free to be taken within the confines of obedience to his orders.

This template presents a very dramatic contrast to the typical concept of Christian liberty. Most believers simply see the freedom of Christ as a gigantic embellishment to their own self-determined lives. And since God’s blessing is reserved for obedience to His will, it’s amazing that our actions line up with His will as much as they do, see that 90+% of the time we behave as civilians with benefits, rather than soldiers under orders. Perhaps the biggest miracle of the Christian life is the actual extent of our actions that end up qualifying for God’s blessings, which are reserved for the enlistment-minded disciple. But God is a Father more than He is a General. Nonetheless, our response to His call to service must be approached like a soldier approaches his enlistment.

Training…

The soldier’s life begins with training. Training is by design, meant to build automatic responsiveness into a soldier. Civilians are not only unfamiliar with military commands and tactics they are usually naturally opposed to following orders immediately. This is accomplished by inculcating the military mindset and strategy through repetition. So training conditions the soldier to move on a command, think according to his training, and learn to work and move as a team. Without this training there is no amount of bravery or determination, which by itself, could succeed in a real fight.

Obviously we are not talking about training to fight people or using physical weapons. But the training for a disciple of Christ involves the routine of prayer, devotion, Bible study (education) and fellowship. It most certainly demands repetition and routine so that learning to see life through the Gospel, thinking according to God’’s Word, and acting in prayer by the Holy Spirit, is our automatic policy towards life.

A civilian can get hold of a uniform, gear and a weapon. But without training, when the shooting starts, he won’’t know what to do. The ability to follow orders under fire is produced by training. Once the firefight starts it’s too late to learn what must come automatically.

An untrained civilian or new recruit, in formation with seasoned troops, can look just like all the rest, until it’s time to march, or function under pressure. Then he will stand out like a sore thumb, scared, in a panic, and uncontrollable. Without being trained to use the gear and function within a unit, he will be overcome in a fight.

A popular word among Christians today is “suddenly”. Referring to the “suddenlies” of God, Christians like to talk about how the Holy Spirit suddenly breaks into a situation, bringing dynamic deliverance and provision. With this in mind, many Christians simply believe that when it’s necessary, the Holy Spirit will break in on their situation and lead them. Nonsense. If the Holy Spirit broke in on the ill prepared and untrained, they would never know He was there! It’s literally the training itself that develops the ability to discern and recognize the Holy Spirit. God is organized and makes good use of planning. Everything He does is according to an eternal predetermined plan. All His “suddenlies” are prepared for by training those by whom they are to be received.

Victory belongs to the trained!

Marching…

Marching seems useless to most new recruits. It seems absurd to march everywhere. March to the exercise field, march to breakfast, then march around the parade field for a while, then march to your classes, then march off to here, march to there, march to dinner and march off to bed. Have you ever seen young recruits enter a restaurant for the first time after weeks of Basic Training. They look like a deer in the headlights because they walked in without marching and it felt strange to them. They get use to marching together everywhere they go. Funny as it seems, but it conditions them to follow orders and move as a unit. For the Christian, leading a daily life consisting of prayer and Bible study, is marching. We need to condition ourselves to get everywhere we go by prayer, the Word and fellowship. It should get to the point where it feels awkward to get anywhere without prayer, Bible study and fellowship.

2 Tim. 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.

Christian posers, who don’t submit to training, always claim to be led by the Spirit.But marching is the beginning of learning how to be led. They never like being subjected to fellowship, regular Bible teaching and prayer, always complaining about the imperfection of others in church. They always site the “hypocrites” as reasons for not submitting to training. As though training is only be justified if perfect people and perfect churches do it. How obtuse. Training works out imperfections and develops the ability to discern the Holy Spirit.

Marching is physical. You can’’t derive the intended results of marching simply by having it explained to you. The ability to react in automatic submission to the Holy Spirit is a trained response and does not come naturally, even to the most emotionally devoted Christian. The results of regular prayer, Bible study and fellowship actually require a habit of them in your life. You have to be IN CHURCH and actually LABORING IN MINISTRY to have the kind of moving of the Holy Spirit upon your life that we read about in the lives of New Testament Christians. You can’’t gain the results of marching or spiritual discipline, by simply watching videos and attending seminars.

Going To War…

2 Tim. 2:4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

No soldier is turned lose to go fight as he sees fit. Real soldiers don’’t just go off willy-nilly, to pick their own battles. They fight the battles of their government.The Christian Servant-Soldier is a servant of the Kingdom of God, and is authorized to fight on the battlefields selected by His King. Christians, who, without any leadership of the Holy Spirit, go helter-skelter out into the world, picking fights with the Devil, are an embarrassment in their defeat. There was a very good reason why Jesus told the 500 disciples to go and wait together, in the Upper Room, for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. It was so that believers would receive the power to witness, as they gathered in prayer together under His command and for His purpose. It was never Christ’’s intention to fill millions of individual believers with the Holy Spirit, so their own plans and ideas could be anointed with His power. The early believers were prayerfully led.

Many Christians like to claim for themselves, the promise made to Joshua…

Josh. 1:3, 5 “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.”

But God knew that Joshua had spent years in submitted service to Moses and was now yielded to the precise plans of God, for entering and conquering the Land of Canaan. Joshua wasn’t going to put the sole of his foot anywhere that the Holy Spirit had not led him to. Far too many preachers today got an initial call and then simply assume that every opportunity that presents itself is their to take.

Some were called,

Some were sent,

And some just took a microphone and went.

Just as soldiers, Christian Servants must realize that the Kingdom is laid at Jesus’’ feet and not ours’. We are not at liberty to go start fights without being both sent and led. We can’’t just attack strongholds without the Spirit’s leading. Christians shouldn’’t think that wherever the sole of their foot treads, that God has given them the land. God set the boundaries of Joshua’’s “treading”. AND he led the tactics of every fight. Joshua wasn’’t a self-appointed evangelist, called by the force of opportunity. He was the military servant to Moses for many years until he was handed over to God for service in Canaan. The disciple’s’ commission and Baptism with the Holy Spirit is not an automatic green light for every evangelistic idea. It’’s the command for training and the power for service.

David knew where his confidence came from when he told Goliath…

1 Sam. 17:47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.

Stay On The Path

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
No Comments »

2 Tim. 2:1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2 Tim. 2:2 And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

2 Tim. 2:3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

2 Tim. 2:4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Jesus ministered to 2 different groups. He ministered as the Preacher to public audiences and also as the Leader to His Disciples. And His ministry to you will be determined by whether you approach Him as an audience or a disciple. Jesus ministered both to the hillside crowds and the fireside disciples. But His ministry to each was very different. Not contradictory, but different, to be sure.

Jesus explains the difference…

Mark 4:11 And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God; but those who are outside get everything in parables,

Mark 4:12 in order that while seeing, they may see and not perceive; and while hearing, they may hear and not understand lest they return and be forgiven.”

Jesus on the hillside…

To the hillside crowd, He preached powerful ideas, which they were free to follow or ignore, after the message, when they returned home. But He knew there level of commitment didn’’t reach beyond listening at that moment. In the absence of a clearly understood relationship between them, there was little more that Jesus could do for people as an audience. The basic principle in play is that the Truth has to be somewhat wrapped in a napkin of parables and metaphors, just enough to let the listener know that there is something valuable inside. Then if there is enough interest in discovering the Truth they will pursue Jesus, usually at some personal cost, in order to learn the Truth’s meaning. This prevents people from handling the Truth at arms length as an abstract ideal. The pursuit of Jesus in discipleship brings the Truth in close, binding it to the disciple, so that he becomes entangled, wrestling with it. The imagery shows that freedom comes as a result of grappling with the Truth that you can’t walk away from. Your life is invested in serving it. Jesus said it like this:

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.

Jesus at the fireside…

To the Disciples around the campfires, His ministry was more than messages. It was leadership and training in the Truth, by which He held them accountable to Himself. Their commitment to Him was as Servants of God, under enlistment by the terms of His Gospel. As long as they were devoted to the terms of the Truth and claims of the Gospel, He would take His rightful liberty in leading them. But the moment that the Gospel of Truth became an abstract ideal, that they could pick up and set aside at will, they were free of their enlistment, and He was free of His obligation to lead them. Stop and think about what that means for a moment. When we stop relating to the Truth of the Gospel, as dependent who need it to live by, Jesus stops being our Leader, and other things take over that position in our lives. In short, it’’s as if Jesus is saying, “If you don’’t need Me, then I don’’t lead you.” This terms of discipleship was dramatically demonstrated when Jesus invited the twelve to leave along with the multitude that had just walked off, having had enough, after one of Jesus more difficult and challenging messages:

John 6:67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?

John 6:68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

John 6:69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

The challenge for true disciples is to always refresh yourself in the terms of your service…

Why am I following Jesus?

Why am I serving the Lord?

The proper fundamental motive for serving God cannot be a desire to help man, serve the public or do good deeds. To fulfill those desires you need only join the social action organization that suits your interests. Nor can it be the desire to improve one’s moral character or be on the right side of Truth. To pursue those desires you need only to join a good church or enroll in some self-improvement seminars. But the reason for following Jesus and serving God must be your own need for the “words of eternal life”. And God makes the Truth of those words available only through a certain type of relationship with Jesus. It is that of a servant, serving out of his own need for the Truth, which makes the follower of Christ faithful. The Truth of the Gospel must become more than “the words of eternal life”, they must become “the words of YOUR eternal life”. That devotion, that necessity, alone forms the basis of your faithfulness to Jesus. His words must be your truth – the ones that you personally look to for meaning, correction, guidance and hope.

Some “truths” come cheap. They’’re like low-hanging fruit. Easily within reach. You don’’t even have to change your path or barely slow yourself down in order to have them. They are not difficult to observe. You only need to live with your eyes open to see them. For example, in order to figure out what a day is, you can watch the Sun arise daily from the east, flow across the sky for about 12 hours, then set in the West, stay hidden for about 12 hours more, than reappear at the edge of the same eastern sky. But to understand why a day even exists and what it’s worth to you, requires seeing the unseen. That which grows up in the tall branches. Unlike the low-hanging fruit, you have to risk life and limb, climbing the tree to reach them. You actually have to stop what you ’re doing, in order to get up in that tree and go after them, as opposed to just strolling by and plucking the fruit that’s easily accessible. If you look up one day, in your own hunger, at the fruitful limbs of Truth above your head …if you decide that climbing that tree is necessary for your life …it will change the entire way you live. Instead of the low-hanging fruit of easy effortless truth, the higher fruit will ignite an appetite within you, for the richer fare of meaning and purpose. These are the Truths that satisfy your life’’s deepest hunger. In the pursuit of God’s Truth you will alter your life so that meaning and purpose become the criteria by which your every decision is made. Instead of choosing how you will manage your business and relationships, based around what seems to most easily benefit you; the greater overall good of God’’s purpose, will become the rationale you use to make such choices. You will see your own life as an integral part of God’s great design, and your own worth as having a higher purpose than just strolling through life, picking only what is easily available.

God planted the tree of Truth among us in the person of his Son, Jesus Christ. All Truth is now available to us in Him. Those who live in His branches have Eternal Life because they live by its words. It is they who are His servants, by whose words God’’s Truth is carried to the ends of the earth.

The world is to hear the words of life through those whose lives were made dependent upon it. No idea-merchants or puffed up professors would be able to even present Jesus’ Gospel. But only those sent from God, with it burning in their own hearts.

So Jesus ministers to the world as both the Hillside Preacher and the Fireside Discipler. With one you get a message. With the other you get Life. One speaks to crowds the other leads servants. Christianity is not a religion of messages but the descendant of the Fireside Discipler.

Stay On The Path

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
No Comments »

Phil. 2:1 If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,

Phil. 2:2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.

Phil. 2:3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself;

Phil. 2:4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

Phil. 2:5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

Phil. 2:6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,

Phil. 2:7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men.

Mark 9:35 And He sat down and called the Twelve [apostles], and He said to them, If anyone desires to be first, he must be last of all, and servant of all.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

We don’’t have relationships like this in our society today. In today’’s pride-ridden culture, the concept of servanthood is considered oppressive and an affront to personal liberty. We have lost the ‘servant’s heart’ as a model of social grace, humility and service. Anyone who appears to stand in a position of service to others is considered inferior and disadvantaged. Servanthood is considered something to be delivered from. And there is a real delusion that talent and intelligence exempts you from service.

However, when Jesus selects men with whom He will entrust the Kingdom of God, He leaves His Kingdom in the hands of Servants.

Matt. 25:14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country,who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

Luke 22:24 And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest.

Luke 22:25 And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’

Luke 22:26 “But not so with you, but let him who is the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the servant.

Luke 22:27 “For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table, or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.

There is no avoiding this basic paradigm. The authority and powers of Kingdom of God is applied in this world, through the administration of servants. It was not from among the powerful, the brilliant or highly talented, that Jesus chose the administrators of His authority. He took them from among those with a servant’’s heart. The reason is simple: The character of a servant is molded around his mission of service to his Lord. A true servant will develop his character according to what the will of the Lord, to faithfully represent Him and accomplish His purpose. He never thinks in terms of representing himself. The servant of God doesn’t entangle himself with the kinds of motivations that trouble the lives of vain people: How can I get attention? Who can I influence? How do get people to like me enough to give me what I want? However embarrassing they sound, these are the inner thoughts that drive the non-servant. The vain, non-servant never has rest. He or she must always strategize and calculate. They are always concerned about themselves. But the servant of God has a wonderful rest for his soul, because he is free from these mental burdens.

Matt. 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.

Matt. 11:30 “For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.”

If you are a servant of God you must be tested in 2 areas:

1. Your relationship to God, and…

2. Your relationship to others.

Your relationship to God…

The one who wishes to serve God must make relationship with God the most important thing in his or her life. Everything, literally everything with which you involve yourself, must be considered in terms of God’s will for your life. The true servant’s heart doesn’t allow him to parcel out his life into territories, such as ministry time and private time. The problem though, arises when Christians manage most of their life (i.e., marriage, work, hobbies, etc) completely independent of any sense of obligation to Christ. Then they have trouble in those areas of life and want God to straighten it out. But if they got into these messes themselves and not as a servant of God, following His direction, where then, will they get a hold of any confidence that God will deliver them. But when, in the process of doing God’s will and serving His purposes, a servant gets himself into a mess, he can be confident of the Lord’’s help in delivering him, even if he’s responsible for the problem.

So then, the servant who maintains a heart of grace towards the Lord, and seeks His will first, can expect God’s grace in return.

John 1:16 And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.

Your relationship to others…

The biggest test of servanthood and ministry is how we think of, relate to and treat other people.

John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

It is totally inappropriate for servants to labor for recognition by others. Christians should never perform acts of charity or extend themselves to help others, and leave their own calling cards laying around so that everyone will know they were “serving”. The true servant serves for an audience of One. It’’s like a fly in the ointment when Christians feel the need to make themselves visible and known, while supposedly serving God. It’’s antithetical to the very nature of Christian service, which is suppose to be glorifying God and not man. Here’’s a good rule of judgment:

When we handle people, have they been touched by God or by us?

Can you give and serve quietly? Can you do your work anonymously? Can you be satisfied knowing that a good thing was done, someone was helped, and God knows that you were involved? If so, you can qualify as a servant of God. And from God alone your reward can come. For before Him alone, you performed your service.

Matt. 23:5 But all their works they do so as to be seen by men: for they make wide their phylacteries, and the edges of their robes,

Matt. 23:6 And the things desired by them are the first places at feasts, and the chief seats in the Synagogues,

Matt. 23:7 And words of respect in the marketplaces, and to be named by men, Teacher.

Matt. 23:8 But you may not be named Teacher: for one is your teacher, and you are all brothers.

As you can see, Jesus was very particular about what behavior constitutes proper conduct as a servant of God.  And indeed, every Christian should be a servant of God. For these qualities are the virtues by which Jesus is lifted up to the world.

Jesus was the consummate servant of God. His example should be our own. But some Christians are so entrenched in their own personality that everyone they come in contact with is going to get the same typical treatment. And you can easily see that Jesus didn’’t have some kind of personality quirk, with which He reacted to everyone. He didn’t just act one predictable way towards everyone. He wasn’’t always meek. And He wasn’’t always stern. But He responded always according to the Father’s will. People were never subjected to His own emotional reactions. The one consistency about Jesus The Servant was that you were certain to see the Father’’s heart in Jesus’ service. He didn’’t serve as a social reformer driven by some agenda. In every encounter and on every mission, Jesus’ interests were the will of the Father. He had no agenda of His own to fulfill.

He didn’’t need the disciples to believe in Him, obey Him or love Him. He looked to the Father for all His needs. He was therefore; free to serve the disciples according to the Father’s will. Thus He was the perfect servant. All true servants of God must respond to others with the Father’s judgments, and not their own.

The 1^st requirement of a servant of God is to relinquish the seat of judgment to the Lord. The outcome of every purpose of God he serves, is left in the hands of God.

1 Cor. 4:2 In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.

1 Cor. 4:3 But to me it is a very small thing that I should be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself.

1 Cor. 4:4 For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord.

1 Cor. 4:5 Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.

The servant surrenders his own desire to have his way and see his own desired results, and replaces it with the desire to see the results of Gods’ will.

Matt. 6:10 ‘Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.

As a servant, we must change our expectations and goals, from getting pleasure out of the situation, to being happy pleasing the Lord.

Mark 6:11 “And any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake off the dust from the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.”

The servant must not die with his rejections and disappointments. Jesus wants you fresh for the next encounter. Therefore, let the Lord’s judgments rule, and you stay free and fresh, looking to God for your happiness.

John 12:26 “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant also be; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
1 Comment »

2 Tim. 2:1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2 Tim. 2:2 And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

2 Tim. 2:3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

2 Tim. 2:4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Review from Part One…

Hurricane Katrina has revealed our weaknesses. All of life’’s storms do. She will also reveal our strengths. The storms of life blow away every refuge, to reveal what lives inside. Times of testing provide opportunities for us to examine our own preparedness.

Is. 48:10 “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

God allows us to undergo the furnace of controlled trials in order that we might be tempered and faithful in His hand. The “refiner’’s furnace” is not a catastrophic wildfire. It’s a controlled, small but intense fire, confined within the limits of a furnace, designed to specifically burn away impurities. In the refiner’s hand, we are left in just long enough to let go of our impurities, without being consumed.

In view of all this we must ask ourselves the question by which our survival will be determined, BEFORE that question is forced upon us:

Are we spoiled?

Do we practice the disciplines necessary to see us through a time of severity? Or have we foolishly pampered ourselves, so that we are vulnerable to collapse under the stress of trial?

…Continuing with Part Four…

“Are we spoiled?” What a question. The answer depends upon your perspective on Christian purpose. If you take only the perspective of Jesus’’ teachings and the call He laid out for those who follow Him, it’’s apparent that the Christian will walk in adversity. He warned us that the world would oppose our very existence with slander and accusation.

Matt. 10:24 The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.

Matt. 10:25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?

He told us that we would have tribulation in this life.

John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

He told us that the world would hate us because it hated Him.

John 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

Some despised Jesus because He was Light and His Presence condemned the darkness of their sin. Others despised Him because He was Light and His Presence threatened their pretense of righteousness. And still others despised Him simply because He was Light and they didn’t like the way many in darkness were being freed by Him. They wanted God to be manifested in a different way – one that would confirm their way instead of His. The plain unvarnished truth is that unless people surrendered to His Light, without any pre-conditions, and were happy to receive Life through Him; they were doomed to hate Him. Why? Because they would cling to their own pride and claims of righteousness, rather than plead their need before Him.

For the very same reasons, Paul warned that Christians would live in adversity, as they follow Jesus.

2 Tim. 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

If “living godly in Christ” meant that we buried our faith so deep in anonymity that no one would ever fear being “offended” by our testimony …if our “godly” living were so secretive that no one would ever know we were a Christian, or be challenged by our presence…then we would never offend anyone, but our life would never have a message – never have a point. With no message there would be no persecution. So “living godly in Christ” is not consistent with the idea of a secret witness. Jesus’ followers would attract persecution because they made His Gospel known. If we attract negative reactions because of our own wrong behavior, then we get what we deserve, and cannot hide behind the claims of persecution. But if we truly “live godly in Christ”, and humbly but unashamedly let His Light shine through us, then we are spoiled if we get offended at God because of persecution.

Living as a soldier of the cross attracts not only the conflict of rebellious people, but the wrath of demon spirits as well. Soldiers are trained to know who the enemy is. That is a distinction upon which the success of their mission depends. And more than that, their very survival is staked on their ability to know the enemy. Combatants can never be so relaxed with the pleasures of the world, as long as there’’s a war on. There is a mindset that has to be maintained. In order to be effective in a fight the soldier has to have a certain detachment from the distractions of daily life. Warfare demands combatants who are dead to the world.

Could this be the concept that Paul had in mind when he charged Timothy: “ No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” God has great things for His people to do.But the Christian who becomes consumed with daily living has a hard time seeing God’’s vision through it all. The answer isn’t to flee the routines of life, or to abandon responsibilities. The answer is to not let yourself become spoiled by the world. Live in it – use it’s materials – but don’’t live for it. Live in the world, but don’’t let it dictate your purpose. A world that has lost sight of its own purpose cannot furnish you with one. But if you love the Lord, focus on His purpose, and stay strong in grace, people’’s words cannot offend you, the world’’s goods cannot spoil you, and daily affairs cannot define you.

Stay On The Path

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
No Comments »

2 Tim. 2:1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2 Tim. 2:2 And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

2 Tim. 2:3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

2 Tim. 2:4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Review from Part One…

Hurricane Katrina has revealed our weaknesses. All of life’’s storms do. She will also reveal our strengths. The storms of life blow away every refuge, to reveal what lives inside. Times of testing provide opportunities for us to examine our own preparedness.

Is. 48:10 “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

God allows us to undergo the furnace of controlled trials in order that we might be tempered and faithful in His hand. The “refiner’’s furnace” is not a catastrophic wildfire. It’s a controlled, small but intense fire, confined within the limits of a furnace, designed to specifically burn away impurities. In the refiner’’s hand, we are left in just long enough to let go of our impurities, without being consumed.

In view of all this we must ask ourselves the question by which our survival will be determined, BEFORE that question is forced upon us:

Are we spoiled?

Do we practice the disciplines necessary to see us through a time of severity? Or have we foolishly pampered ourselves, so that we are vulnerable to collapse under the stress of trial?

…Continuing with Part Three…

Paul tells Timothy to “endure hardship”. I don’t think anyone dislikes hardship more than I do. Helping my wife in the yard recently, on one of our hot August days, the skies opened up and began to cut loose with those typical, big ole Florida afternoon raindrops. I felt like a cat in a pond. Hot as it was, I just dislike being rained on. But the work had to be finished so we slogged through. I don’t know if it was the military influence in my youth or just having been challenged by too many Saturday afternoon adventure matinees. But no matter how much I disliked – even hated – my miserable circumstances, I always seemed challenged to move into that “hunker-down-and-press through” mode. I use to wonder if I was just over-romanticizing the challenges and pretending I was on some great survival mission. But whatever the source of my orientation, I found a great environment for it when I became a Christian.

My wife and I endured a good deal of struggle and maybe even a tad bit of suffering in our early Christian years. I hated our circumstances just as much as everyone else around me, but I seemed to usually impose this attitude of “enduring hardship as a good soldier for Christ” over my circumstances, and that gave me a sense of purpose, no matter how ridiculous the situation was. Looking back over the years, I’’ve noticed that it was applying that attitude to our difficulties that kept me focused on the call of God, rather than jumping the track and running off to do something else, like so many around me did.

Many years later, I’m now convinced that lowering one’s shoulder into the winds of adversity rather than always seeking a way out, is the best way for a Christian to face life. We often talk about being a living sacrifice for the Lord, but if we run off of every altar that life tosses us on; if we always choose the course that offers us the best assurance of comfort; then how will be ever know the comfort of the Holy Spirit? And more importantly, how will we become qualified to help others when the world is crashing in?

2 Cor. 4:9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

2 Cor. 4:10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

2 Cor. 4:11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

2 Cor. 4:12 So death works in us, but life in you.

Stay On The Path

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
No Comments »

2 Tim. 2:1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2 Tim. 2:2 And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

2 Tim. 2:3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

2 Tim. 2:4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Review from Part One…

Hurricane Katrina has revealed our weaknesses. All of life’s storms do. She will also reveal our strengths. The storms of life blow away every refuge, to reveal what lives inside. Times of testing provide opportunities for us to examine our own preparedness.

Is. 48:10 “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

God allows us to undergo the furnace of controlled trials in order that we might be tempered and faithful in His hand. The “refiner’s furnace” is not a catastrophic wildfire. It’s a controlled, small but intense fire, confined within the limits of a furnace, designed to specifically burn away impurities. In the refiner’s hand, we are left in just long enough to let go of our impurities, without being consumed.

In view of all this we must ask ourselves the question by which our survival will be determined, BEFORE that question is forced upon us:

Are we spoiled?

Do we practice the disciplines necessary to see us through a time of severity? Or have we foolishly pampered ourselves, so that we are vulnerable to collapse under the stress of trial?

…Continuing with Part Two…

The first instruction from Paul is to “be strong in grace”.

The first discipline of every servant of God is learning to be gracious. Place yourself under the discipline of grace. Practice being gracious, for true strength that can stand up under pressure comes from a gracious disposition.

Don’t allow yourself the luxury of being hasty with criticism, harsh and judgmental.Don’t permit bitterness and anger to dwell in your heart. For those who are gracious towards God and others will inherit grace from God. But those who permit themselves to become bitter will only compound life’s problems for others.

Heb. 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

We have come up too short in defining grace as unmerited favor. “Unmerited favor” doesn’t go far enough in explaining what is needed from us to obtain God’s grace.Grace is God’s ability offered to us, to do His will, when we turn to Him in a gracious attitude. The graciousness on our part, which is required of us in order to receive His grace, includes forgiveness towards others, and an attitude of humility towards ourselves. Consider these words from the Apostle John:

John 1:16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

Have we spoiled ourselves by becoming dependent upon the favorable flow of circumstances? Have we become terrarium Christians, who can only praise God and exhibit joy within the very narrow limits of certain conditions that go our way?Can we only show kindness, empathy and patience towards others when we ourselves are getting the attention we need?

Or have we trained ourselves how to find the Joy of the Lord in every situation, whether good or bad? Have we truly freed ourselves from dependence upon circumstances, by making the Lord our Refuge and source of comfort?

People depend on a push-button society. There is little that we have to wait for, and our patience has shrunk to fit our expectations:

· We communicate in real-time around the world;

· We get our news while it’s happening;

· We use our drive times to retrieve messages, make appointments, order dinner and schedule flight plans from our cars;

· We can pay bills, do our taxes and make investments in our PJs, from our bedsides;

· Every commodity is available within a short drive from our house, and the rest we can order online;

We are no longer accustomed to being subjected to delays. Modern businesses survive on their ability to say, “Yes” to the consumers’ every wish. Those who can’t deliver go under.

The same is true of churches. People are use to being told, “Yes. We have what you want.” And they expect the same from church.

It may be a wise church that learns how to best accommodate the availability of its members. But once you have them before the preacher, Christians should be challenged with the demands of sacrificial Christianity. Rather than tailoring the claims of Christ to be non-confrontational, we should be attacking the affects of convenient living. We should be challenging one another to not use grace as an excuse for loose living. We ought to be provoking one another to develop grace by staying in shape morally, and exercised spiritually. Staying spiritually and morally in shape has a practical purpose that becomes immediately apparent in times of great trial and instability. When the “hurricanes” hit it’s too late to workout. You’ve got to run with what you have.

Paul told Timothy to be “strong in grace” because he was going to have to deal with people. As Christians we don’t have the luxury of cutting people off just because they’re a pain to deal with. We’ve been called to be the “light of the world” (Matt. 5:14) and to “bear one another’s’ overload”:

Gal. 6:2 (Amp. Bible) Bear (endure, carry) one another’s burdens and troublesome moral faults, and in this way fulfill and observe perfectly the law of Christ (the Messiah) and complete what is lacking [in your obedience to it].

The kind of strength that is needed for such a mission comes from Grace. And this grace doesn’t just fall on you when the catastrophe hits. It’s developed in the refiner’s fire of daily trials. We are “Instructed” in grace through the refiner’s fire, so that we can walk in the power of it when hellfire breaks out. The very qualities forged under today’s difficulties will determine our survivability in the times of major testing. There is great purpose in the irritating tests of today.

Phil. 4:12-13 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Paul was literally taught HOW TO suffer need, as well as how to abound. He was prepared to be effective for Christ under all conditions. It’s the natural tendency of man to spoil himself. But it’s the virtue of a wise man to keep himself fit and ready to be useful to God under harsh conditions.

Tomorrow we’ll examine ourselves further, so until then…

Stay On The Path

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
No Comments »

2 Tim. 2:1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

2 Tim. 2:2 And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.

2 Tim. 2:3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

2 Tim. 2:4 No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Hurricane Katrina has revealed our weaknesses. All of life’s storms do. She will also reveal our strengths. The storms of life blow away every refuge, to reveal what lives inside. Times of testing provide opportunities for us to examine our own preparedness. Battle-tested troops are always better prepared for the bigger battles, because they have faced the enemy and learned their own weaknesses.

One of the great spiritual principles of the Bible is that of self-examination.

1 Cor. 11:31 For if we searchingly examined ourselves [detecting our shortcomings and recognizing our own condition], we should not be judged and penalty decreed [by the divine judgment].

If we examine ourselves, and take the opportunity to correct ourselves under the grace of God, then we would not ultimately fall in times of great trials.

Eph. 6:13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.

The ability to stand in the hour of testing is a matter of preparation. Paul essentially told the Ephesian believers that they would have to had “done ALL” in order to stand in the evil day. The Bible assumes that “the evil day” will come. Life is never an endless string of easy days – far from it. In fact, a time of ultimate testing is coming to the whole world, and it is inescapable. Whatever we are, going into that terrible hour, will determine where we will stand and fall on that day.

Rev. 22:10 And he [further] told me, Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book and make no secret of them, for the time when things are brought to a crisis and the period of their fulfillment is near.

Rev. 22:11 He who is unrighteous (unjust, wicked), let him be unrighteous still; and he who is filthy (vile, impure), let him be filthy still; and he who is righteous (just, upright, in right standing with God), let him do right still; and he who is holy, let him be holy still.

Rev. 22:12 Behold, I am coming soon, and I shall bring My wages and rewards with Me, to repay and render to each one just what his own actions and his own work merit.

The Book of Revelation foretells a time when the whole world will face its final crisis, as judgment falls from Heaven

In a way, every test and crisis leading up to that time, will have served the purpose to point men to prepare themselves to meet God.

Some will use the time of assessment wisely, judge their own weakness, and turn to God and live out their days in righteousness. Others will foolishly squander the opportunity, harden their hearts, and choose to live in sin.

But the prophetic warning of Revelation tells us that when that time of testing comes upon the world, all mankind will be locked into their committed path: some will be hardened and others will have mercy; all determined by the choices that prepared them.

Is. 48:10 “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

God allows us to undergo the furnace of controlled trials in order that we might be tempered and faithful in His hand. The “refiner’s furnace” is not a catastrophic wildfire. It’s a controlled, small but intense fire, confined within the limits of a furnace, designed to specifically burn away impurities. In the refiner’s hand, we are left in just long enough to let go of our impurities, without being consumed. He withdraws us and we are molded and cooled into a new pure state; ready for royal use. The refined vessel can successfully withstand the heat of wildfire, and hold together to be useful in the Lord’s hands.

In view of all this we must ask ourselves the question by which our survival will be determined, BEFORE that question is forced upon us:

Are we spoiled?

Do we practice the disciplines necessary to see us through a time of severity? Or have we foolishly pampered ourselves, so that we are vulnerable to collapse under the stress of trial? Tomorrow we will begin looking at this question in light of Paul’s instruction to Timothy. So until then…

Stay On The Path

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
No Comments »

Col. 2:6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,

Col. 2:7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed,and overflowing with gratitude.

Col. 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

Col. 2:9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,

Col. 2:10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;

Col. 2:11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

From part one:

“Many Pastors and church leaders, as well as church-growth “experts”, have taken yet another step away from the power of the Gospel, and caved in to the pressure to become a social service station, to an increasingly dependent culture.”

” The Church is losing its distinctive power, to offer God’s “one size fits all” solution for every human need. We are falling away from our high calling to stand separate from the world in declaring Jesus, The Answer.”

“Let me clarify that there is NOTHING WRONG with counseling or ministering encouragement to people as they struggle against obstacles. Everyone needs compassion and encouragement. But the unique power of our encouragement rests in our privilege to present people with the Gospel of Jesus, Who provided Himself for them. ÖHowever, any counseling that truly focuses the seeker on the New Creation realities of Jesus, and their covenant with Him, is where they will find the power to overcome.”

Continuing…

Just what are we going to gain through, captivating audio-visual sermonettes, special focus groups, and praise band driven “worship experiences”? We are simply reinforcing dependency upon external stimulation. Modern Christians, spawned under these “seeker-friendly” conditions are synthetically maintained and environmentally supported. In short, they could never survive on Jesus alone, against the force of the real world. We’re not developing dynamic overcomers, but rather spiritual underachievers. I’m not condemning praise and worship bands, audio-visual enhanced sermons or special support groups, but rather the notion that we MUST have these to reach and keep people. It isn’t the mission of the church to “keep” people. That is God and the individual’s responsibility. How do many churches really know whether their members would follow Christ alone? They’ve never had their members in that position. I’ve watched plenty of people, however, walk out of church in a huff because their pacifier got taken away.

In speaking with my Dad recently, in Arizona, he told me about losing a mature Mesquite tree from their yard during a 40-mph wind. In the many windstorms I’d experienced in Texas, I’ve never seen a Mesquite tree uprooted by a wind of that force. But my Dad explained that they had made the mistake of babying the tree by watering it routinely. As a result, the roots never reached down deep in search of water. They didn’t have too. And likewise Christians, who join churches where they are constantly “ministered to” are never going to develop the kind of depth needed to withstand temptation. They are being stroked and massaged by “special ministries” rather than pointed to the “one-size-fits-all” cross of Jesus, and allowed to undergo real transformation. If Pastors had the guts to present Christ ALONE as the answer, there might be fewer people in the church, but a whole lot more of them would be withstanding the winds of adversity, lining up to serve, and delivered from victim mentality.

If you think this is an unfair assessment, then show me where all the tough young men and women are lining up for self-sacrifice in the ministry of missions and church work today. And being a guitar player or praise and worship star doesn’t count. Show me something with some suffering in it. Most people seeking ministry positions today are looking for “entertainment” oriented ministries. There’s nothing wrong, per se, with these, except that they are a cultural phenomenon and not Biblical callings. Show me the healings and deliverances from demonic bondage. There is a price to pay for the “real ministry”. It cost something to have a genuine abiding anointing upon your life. The true Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers from God, are the reconstituted beings of former lives invested in Christ. They have no “special problems”. The “one size fits all” answer from heaven has transformed them. If it hasn’t, they need to get out of the ministry and get someone in there that does exemplify the Gospel.

The Bible doesn’t pander to “special problems” because they ALL stem from one problem, and that is wrong relationship with God. Think about that for a moment; the Bible consolidates the entire need of humanity into one problem with one solution. That is profound in its simplicity.

2 Cor. 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

People need to get saved and get right with the Lord. If they will, then there is a whole covenant filled with wonderful provisions with which the Holy Spirit is eager to bless them. The Bible doesn’t pander to “special problems” because the sacrifice of Jesus ALONE is more than enough to override the consolidated consequences of sin and all it’s resulting bondages.

Col. 2:11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;

This scripture tells us that Jesus did for ALL people what the useless sympathy of victim focusing can never do: He delivered them, so they could move on. The twist is that today, many people don’t want to “move on”. Their special problems have become their identity; and churches simply reinforce their chronic commitment with victim oriented ministry groups.

The Christian of today is faced with a choice. We can continue with this cultural renaissance until there’s no power left in the church. But we’ll have great entertainment, politically correct staff, and the world will pay attention to us. Or we can return to our First Love, and endure the criticism of a sin-darkened world, for offering a “one-size-fits-all” salvation.

Acts 19:20 So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Our Identification In Christ by Nick Champlin
No Comments »

Col. 2:6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,

Col. 2:7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.

Col. 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

Col. 2:9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form,

Col. 2:10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;

Col. 2:11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Many Protestant churches, including Evangelical and Charismatic, denominational and independent, have finally caved in to the empty methods of secularism. Among the most commonly asked questions, posed by church shoppers, are inquiries about what special focus groups the church offers. “Does you church have a Divorcees’ Group, a Substance Abuse Group, a Mothers’ Support group, special counseling for co-dependency,etc.?” Many Pastors and church leaders, as well as church-growth “experts”, have taken yet another step away from the power of the Gospel, and caved in to the pressure to become a social service station, to an increasingly dependent culture.

Secularists see human failings as the fault of a hostile and uncompassionate environment. They classify people who misbehave as victims, and blame their sinful behavior on a lack of nurturing in early years, or non-acceptance from society. The Secularists’ advice for people who practice habits of destruction, violence or betrayal, is to find a group or counselor who is sympathetic to their particular victimization. The Secularist philosophy has compelled a growing percentage of people to believe that they are not responsible for their behaviors, faults or bondages; but that the fault lies with the society that has “failed them”. Therefore many people look to the world for solutions when things don’t go their way. As a result, when they do turn to “God”, they have a built in expectation, that the church, through some ministry, should meet their “special need” with specialized focus and attention.

The Church is losing its distinctive power, to offer God’s “one size fits all” solution for every human need. We are falling away from our high calling to stand separate from the world in declaring Jesus, The Answer.

Rom. 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth…

The Church once endured the mocking of a world that didn’t understand its singularly simplistic answer, in order to present the power of the miraculous life-changing Gospel. We use to be the place people came when the world, with all its empty answers wasn’t working. Our answer was based in the view that one problem alone is the cause of all others: broken fellowship with God. We use to believe that Jesus “died once for all.” We use to really believe that Jesus was ”the Head of all principality and power”, and that in Him we had been “made complete”. There was a day when we directed people to Christ in complete faith that an encounter and life with Him had a total transforming affect. And because we believed it to the extent that we were willing to offer Christ alone, without any worldly backup plans, He Himself use to routinely demonstrate His power through our churches. But now our churches “fit” people according to their needs, into special groups, that will offer that special attention they need for their unique situations.

Col. 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

Our unique anointing depended upon the one thing we have traded away in order to be popular with people, and that is, exclusivity. God is holy and demands that His Word be offered without any side helpings of secular vain philosophy, traditions of men and principles of the world. When people come into our churches and are enrolled in special groups designed to “understand their unique problems”, what are we saying? I know that we are trying to say, “We love you”. But it’s not OUR loving them that will deliver them, but rather God’s loving them! Through victim and problem identification ministry, we are reinforcing in people the notion that God and His Word alone have no miraculous capability to deliver them. We are simply strengthening their own dependence upon attention for their problems. We are pushing God farther out into the realm of the abstract. We are rolling back years of wonderful progress, and taking the church right back into a cultural revolution at the expense of a spiritual revival.

God’s answer today is the same as it was from the beginning. Paul wrote to the Colossian Church that,

“as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rootedand now being built up in Him and established in your faith“.

It is impossible to develop faith in people while at the same time, they are focusing on their problems and needs. Faith that overcomes is born from “looking to Jesus”.

“Looking away from all that distracts, to Jesus, the Author and developer of our faith.” Heb 12:2

Let me clarify that there is NOTHING WRONG with counseling or ministering encouragement to people as they struggle against obstacles. Everyone needs compassion and encouragement. But the unique power of our encouragement rests in our privilege to present people with the Gospel of Jesus, Who provided Himself for them. Allowing people to blame the world or their past for their troubles simply won’t lead to deliverance. Nor will putting them into groups in the church, that focus on their problems. However, any counseling that truly focuses the seeker on the New Creation realities of Jesus, and their covenant with Him, is where they will find the power to overcome.

It takes boldness, the kind of boldness that lives in a convinced heart, to say to people in bondage, “The problem is your relationship with God. You need to get in right relationship with Him.” And then help them through the Word and prayer.

More Tomorrow,

Stay On The Path

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Our Identification In Christ by Nick Champlin
No Comments »

Rom. 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

“No matter how deep our desire or how high our aspirations, man simply cannot fly, just because he wills it. He stays bound to Earth’s surface. That is, until man began to discover ANOTHER LAW.” So perhaps what your dilemma requires is the knowledge of “ANOTHER LAW”.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

As we saw in the previous devotional, God’s Laws are the pathways to His provisions. It’s so critical to understand this. God does not simply operate arbitrarily on whim or emotion; without reason or pattern. His laws are the connective tissues of His creation, and by them he moves among us. In short, His laws that hold the universe together and define the boundaries of living things, are the highways upon which He and His creation interact. By contrast, God does not operate by “magic,” nor does He simply disregard His laws in order to do what He or we want. Everything He does is in agreement with a Word, a law, that He has laid down from the beginning. Our frustrations and errors arise from being locked into only what we see on one level or in one law. For example, Paul wrote in Romans:

Rom. 7:22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,

Rom. 7:23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.

Rom. 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

Rom. 7:25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

Rom. 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Rom. 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Here Paul describes the conflict between the binding influence of the Law of Sin & Death and the desire for a more excellent way to live. BUT! He then rejoices that in Jesus’ coming He opened a way for us to see and walk in a ANOTHER LAW - a higher law. Essentially, Jesus, by becoming a man, opened access for us, through Himself, to God’s Law of Life. What only our desire and imagination could touch, now our feet could actually walk upon: The Path Of Life!

Psa. 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

Notice the phrase, “converting the soul“. This simply means that God’s Word is ALIVE. And through it’s illuminating affect, the soul that looks into it undergos a “convertion”. In short, it is “changed” so that it can see and walk upon the path of God’s higher Law of Life. That’s what Pauls was so excited about in Ro. 8:2. Just as man’s discovery of the Laws of Areo Dynamics enabled him to break free of the Law of Gravity, so also the soul that, through Christ, sees the Laws of God, is empowerd by them to walk therein.

Eph. 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

Eph. 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

Eph. 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power…

It wouldn’t be too clever to say that through the Word of God, the God of the Word is made accessible. The Word of God is filled with wonderful highways through the invisible world that stretches beyong the limitations of our sighted-reason.

Here is a classic example of being limited in our actions by lesser laws, because we can’t see the higher more pwerful laws, in order to act by them:

Matt. 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith…(and love - Lk 11:42): these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Here Jesus rebukes the religious leaders because they were so consummed by the comparatively insignificant laws of tithing - to the extent of tithing their spices - that they could not see how to act in the Laws of Love, Judgement, Mercy and Faith! When they brought the woman taken in adultery to Jesus and were ready to stone her according to the Law, they couldn’t see any way to let her go without violating God’s law. But they were only seeing a lesser Law. Jesus saw a higher Law…and He acted upon that Law:

John 8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her….

John 8:11 ….And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Rom. 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

In all that Jesus did, and in all the subsequent works of His followers, right up to this very day, every miracle and every supernatural act of grace, is simply the application of God’s higher Law of Life, imposing it’s superior affects over the consequences of the Law of Sin & Death.

Is. 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to…….

Is. 61:3 …….To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.

So if the Law of Sin & Death has surrounded you with ashes, mourning and heaviness, just remember that, by the Law of Life, Jesus is authorized to appoint you to Beauty, Joy and Praise.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Our Identification In Christ by Nick Champlin
No Comments »

Rom. 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

God’s universe is held together by laws. Each law has it’s own abilities and limitations. And different laws often occupy the same space and impose their influences on the same materials. For example, consider the Law of Gravity. Sir Isaac Newton observed the the force of Earth’s pull upon objects: what went up, came down, and the apple fell from the tree as gravity pulled upon it and it’s stem loosened.

Under the influence of the Law of Gravity, man cannot simply float up into the atmosphere and fly, even if he is a Ninja. No matter how deep our desire or how high our aspirations, man simply cannot fly, just because he wills it. He stays bound to Earth’s surface. That is, until man began to discover ANOTHER LAW. He watched the birds. The same Law of Gravity forced it’s influence on them, as well as him, but by means of the properties of some other law, birds were able to rise above the powers of gravity and fly at will! If only man could learn the secrets of the law that allowed birds to fly. (Are you begining to see where we’re headed with this?)

When Wilbur and Orville Wright succeeded in applying the Laws of Aero Dynamics to their construction of the first manned flying machine, they didn’t break or suspend the Law of Gravity. They simply discovered the use of a higher law that allowed them to break free of it’s limitations. They simply OVERCAME the Law of Gravity. What a tremendous concept. Take a moment and let this principle sink in: There are higher laws that occupy the same space and influence the same materials, simultaneously.

The Laws of Areodynamics were in existence for all those thousands of years that man desired to fly. The birds were using those laws the whole time. These laws were right there in the same place with the Law of Gravity, but man was unaware of them and as a result he was unable to use them to overcome the effects of the Law of Gravity. And when man began to use the Laws of Areodynamics to enable himself to fly, the Law of Gravity continued to exist and exert it’s influence over him, even though he seemed to escape it’s grasp. The fact is that when man broke the Laws of Areodynamics during flight, through engine failure, wings breaking off, etc, the force of gravity claimed it’s victims.

So the discovery of the Laws of Areodynamics opened up a whole new dimension of God’s world to mankind.

NOW, this same ability to access things that God has placed within our reach, by understanding His Laws and acting upon them, is also how the principles of Faith and the Word of God work. And the failure to understand His Laws equally limits our access to His provisions. This is why ignorance of God’s Word is such a travisty.

Hos. 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hastrejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to Me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

This is also why the discovery of God’s Laws, that seem hidden from immediate view, is so valuable. It’s because of the tremendous help that is opens up to man, when someone understands the Word of God and shares it accurately.

Rom. 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Rom. 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

Rom. 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!……..

Rom. 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Faith for a particular thing, rushes into the heart of one whose mind has heard and grasped God’s Laws pertaining to that thing. That’s why Paul points out the blessing of the one who understands God’s Laws and shares them with those who would benefit from the knowledge and faith they produce.

How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Likewise, it was said of Newton, who discovered the Law of Gravity, as well as others….

“Nature and Nature’s laws lay hid in night:

God said, Let Newton be! and all was light.”

–Alexander Pope

Rom. 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

All that seems so hard to grasp, of Jesus’ miracles, and His invitations to receive and dispense them, are understood in grasping the principle that “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the Law of Sin and Death.”

“No matter how deep our desire or how high our aspirations, man simply cannot fly, just because he wills it. He stays bound to Earth’s surface. That is, until man began to discover ANOTHER LAW.” So perhaps what your dilemma requires is the knowledge of “ANOTHER LAW”.

More to follow……

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Our Identification In Christ by Nick Champlin
No Comments »

Psa. 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strengthbecause of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

Matt. 21:16 And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

From yesterday’s devotional:

“Most Christians are completely unaware that their daily life is the center of controversy in the spirit realm. They don’t realize that their troubles often result from satanic conflicts, for which they hold the key. Feelings of obscurity and insignificance are part of Satan’s poisonous weapons-of-the-mind, designed to confuse you in battle, and keep you from realizing that you are at the center of a great struggle, and fighting in a crowded arena”

Spiritual progress is a WAR; all else is the outcome of it. Here are some facts to keep in mind:

You must wage the battle that you are at the center of.

2 Cor. 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;

You are always on display.

Eph. 3:10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenlyplaces might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,

Heb. 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Your earthly struggles are the result of battles with spirit beings. The cause of trouble upon earth is conflict in the heavenlies.

Eph. 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Until Michael the Archangel is ordered by God to expel Satan from the heavenlies (Rev. 12:7-10), Jesus has given the responsibility of resisting, binding and restricting his activity on earth, to you.

Matt. 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Matt. 18:18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Jesus came to earth, lifted us to citizenship in His Kingdom and placed His authority upon the Church. Now that the “keys of the kingdom” are with us, something you do on earth is going to have an impact in the heavenly realm.

Is. 54:17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tonguethat shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.

To be ignorant of these things only exposes you to Satan’s harassing attacks, and eventual bondage.

2 Cor. 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

To say the very least, as a Christian, you go through your days giving little thought to how significant your life is. You seldom consider the impact you are having on the conflicts of the heavenly realm. Yet consider this, that God has arranged to have Jesus’ victory over Satan administered through your obedience and praise! Every time you choose God’s will over your own; every time you lift praise to the Lord instead of complaining; every time you trust God for provision rather than worry; every time you turn to the Father’s mercy rather than remain frozen in condemnation, you deny the devil his victory and you enforce the will of God over him. Good for you! Your simple acts of obedience to God give power to your praise of Him, and make you very dangerous to the devil.

Matt. 21:16 (Ps 8:2) And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise,that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Praise, Prayer & Devotion by Nick Champlin
No Comments »

Psa. 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strengthbecause of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

Matt. 21:16 And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Psalm 8:2 contains a remarkable divine strategy which was later quoted by Jesus in Matthew 21:16.  The harassing accusations of the devil would be able to be silenced by the praises of God’s people.  This strategy is so powerful that even young children could execute it with demon-binding effectiveness.  Notice the Psalmist declares that the purpose of praise was to “still the enemy and the avenger”. 

Most Christians are completely unaware that their daily life is the center of controversy in the spirit realm.  They don’t realize that their troubles often result from satanic conflicts, for which they hold the key.  Feelings of obscurity and insignificance are part of Satan’s poisonous weapons-of-the-mind, designed to confuse you in battle, and keep you from realizing that you are at the center of a great struggle, and fighting in a crowded arena. 

Satan stands against you and accuses you before God, raising challenges against your rights as a child of God.  He continually points out your faults and by them, questions your right to the will of God.  He always seeks to maneuver you into defending yourself on the merits of your own righteousness.  This he hopes you will do rather than to rely upon your position of grace with Jesus, and overthrow the devil’s accusations with the praises of God. 

But always remember 3 things:

1.    Regardless of whether people notice your struggles, your actions have significant consequences upon beings that want to use you as a pawn.

2.    Everything God’s Word declares about the children of God is true about you, regardless of your circumstances or how you feel.

3.    You can silence the devil’s claims against you without ever having to defend yourself.  Simply lay claim to your relationship with Jesus and give praise to Him as your Lord.  You will slap the devil’s mouth shut every time.

We’ll take a few more steps tomorrow, so…

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Praise, Prayer & Devotion by Nick Champlin
No Comments »

Gal. 4:4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, born under the Law,

Gal. 4:5 in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Gal. 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

Gal. 4:7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

The angels of Heaven heralded the arrival of Jesus to Earth with tremendous joy.  But……

· It wasn’’t because of good news for Jesus, but good news for us…

· It wasn’’t His arrival to Earth, but our arrival in Heaven….

· It wasn’’t His descent into Earthly birth but our ascent into Heavenly…

· It wasn’’t His relocation to Earth, but our relocation to Heaven.

When Jesus arrived in the world, the angelic celebration was not because He had been promoted to Earth. Because where He was from was far superior to where He was at. No, for Jesus, it was a severe demotion, to descend into the Earth. However, His coming did provide a great promotion for us. For as a result of His coming we were promoted to where He was from. We were actually given a relocation of citizenship by virtue of a Heavenly new birth. The angels’ celebration was over our elevation and not His descent.

There is a problem with the way Christians view their position. There is too much concentration focused on getting to Heaven rather than living from Heaven. The truth is that we are already relocated to Heaven, by new birth; and already possess Heavenly citizenship. The true joyous message of Christmas doesn’t end with Jesus coming into the world. It’’s not complete until we are re-oriented to our new citizenship in Heaven.

Eph. 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

Eph. 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Let’s re-trace the steps Jesus took to get here, for they are the very ones that lead us to our new home:

“God sent forth His Son……

He is pre-existent in eternal oneness with the Father, yet descends FROM glory.

“Made (to be born) of a woman…”

He does not come to Earth as God (though God He is), but enters isolation in the world as a man.

“Born under the Law…”…

And finally, He does not enter the world, a freewheeling individualist, but places Himself under the humility of slavery to the Law.

In every way and with each step, Jesus descended deeper into the prison that confined sinners. Yet with His resurrection He lifts us triumphantly above the disadvantages of human birth. He gives us divine re-birth and Heavenly citizenship. We become re-located to Heaven NOW, not after we die.

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God,…

Though this is a spiritual reality and not yet a physical one, it is nonetheless a legal reality which places the keys of the Kingdom at our disposal. We not only have the privilege, but we have the responsibility to enact the will of the Kingdom of God among men, as Christ’s Ambassadors. As sons of God we are heirs of Christ and heirs of His mission. We have the right and privilege to act from our heavenly position.

Gal. 4:5-7 …to redeem those who were under the Law…receive the adoption as sons…sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts…no longer slaves, but as sons; and heirs of God.

The greatest weakness of Christians is the failure to orient properly!

· Heaven isn’t where we’re going it’s where we’re from.

· We are Ambassadors, not of where we are at, but where we’re from.

· We don’’t get our power from where we are at, but where we’re from.

· We should not be governed by where we are, but where we’re from.

· Before you get depressed, call Heaven to see if Heaven is depressed.

When Peter met the lame man at the gate Beautiful and said, “Silver and gold have I none, but SUCH AS I HAVE give I unto you …(Acts 3:6)”, what he gave him didn’t come from where he was at, but where he was from! But the lame man definitely got what he had from where he was at.

There was no authority or ability to heal that was available to Peter where he was at, but as an Ambassador of Heaven, where he was from became his motivation. And so it must be ours.

The world cannot provide any power to authorize the claims that Jesus asks you to make on His behalf. So He changed your citizenship by re-birth, and gave you a new Heavenly birthright.

John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

The joy of the angels’ announcement was, that through the coming of Jesus, YOU would become Heaven-born, assembled in the Earth and dispatched to the world!

Stay On The Path!

I would like to acknowledge my good friend Jimmy Mutebi, a prince of preachers, from Uganda, E. Africa (residing in Atlanta, GA), for the notes I took during one of his messages years ago at our church. Reviewing these notes inspired this message.

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Our Identification In Christ by Nick Champlin
No Comments »

John 15:4 Be in me at all times as I am in you. As the branch is not able to give fruit of itself, if it is not still on the vine, so you are not able to do so if you are not in me.

John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches: he who is in me at all times as I am in him, gives much fruit, because without me you are able to do nothing.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

You only see half of every tree you look at - the above ground half. But every healthy tree has another half - the underground tree. The root system of every tree is it’s underground branches, reaching for water, nourishment and stability with which to support the tree you see above the ground. No roots, no fruits. It’s a pretty simple but profound analogy. Your unseen private life fuels your public existence. It’s a basic law of life that you can’t fake your way around. What you do in secret, before God, determines the life you will manifest in public before men.

Consider what Paul wrote to the Christians in Rome:

Rom. 11:18 …remember that you don’t support the root, the root supports you.

This principle goes to the very heart of the Gospel. Namely that Jesus Himself is your root system in God. In the Body of Christ, it is His relation to the Father that occupies that hidden subterranean region known as the roots of the tree.

Rev. 5:5 …the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed….

Rev. 22:16 I Jesus…I am the root and the offspring of David…

In other words, Every real Christian is supported and nourished by Jesus’ relationship to the Father. Jesus, in affect put it this way in explaining Himself to His disciples; “I am, in effect, the Father come to you.” When you are engrafted into Me, as the Vine, you are in direct relationship with the Father. Through Me, your status is that of a son/daughter to the Father. You don’t have to establish your own relationship with God. You simply enter into mine by “abiding in Me”.

1 John 3:1 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God…

Think for a moment about the awesome ramifications of this position. Nobody grows his or her own roots in God. Nobody establishes his or her own relationship with God. Nobody develops his or her own spiritual depth. Every true Christian simply maintains a genuine, honest, continuous relationship of prayer and communion with Jesus Christ; as opposed to trying to create their own spiritual connection with God. In fact, there are no “deep” Christians, just dependent ones.The depth of the underground tree belongs to the Vine: Jesus. We are merely branches. The fruit of our spiritual power never flows from our own spirituality but His.

Rom. 10:6 But the righteousness which is of faith says these words, Say not in your heart, Who will go up to heaven? (that is, to make Christ come down:)

Rom. 10:7 Or, Who will go down into the deep? (that is, to make Christ come again from the dead:)

Rom. 10:8 But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart: that is, the word of faith of which we are the preachers:

Jesus is your root in God. His spirituality is yours. His righteousness is yours. His faith is yours. Through Him you are able to draw upon a depth that would otherwise have been impossible for anyone to achieve. Rather than entangling yourself in the futile and self-deceiving business of trying to be spiritual, you can simply concentrate on loving and abiding in your relationship with Christ, and simply let Him flow through your life.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Our Identification In Christ by Nick Champlin
No Comments »

1 John 4:16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

Welcome To The Light-Washed Path,

Listening to people on TV who know about God is like listening to a donkey braying in a tin barn at midnight. You’d rather not. But when you’re in the presence of someone who actually knows God, and listening to them speak, it’s all together different. People who actually know God are affected. Those who simply know about Him are still full of themselves. But there’s a quality or a substance that people, who actually know God, possess. That quality or force of life is called Agape, or the Love of God. It’s the Love God is and has towards us. We can know it, possess it and through it, we actually abide in God.

You can’t really know God through the intellect of your head. You have to know Him through the love of your heart. God actually conveys Himself by His Love.

1 John 4:16 …God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

With a firm intellectual grasp on God’s righteousness, His holiness, the omnipotence of His Being and His redemptive purpose in Christ, you can know about God. But you can only come in contact with Him through His love.

Eph. 3:17 …being rooted and grounded in love,

Eph. 3:18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

Eph. 3:19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

God’s love is actually His redeeming motivator. It’s what moves Him to save, heal and deliver.

Eph. 2:4 But God—so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, (see also Jn 3:16)

God loves us even when He doesn’t love the things we do. In fact, His love for us isn’t motivated by our behavior at all. Instead, God’s love for us comes from His own nature…

1 John 4:16 …God is love…

He loves us because that’s what He is. If you’re cute enough you could even get a troll to love you. But God loves you because it’s His heart to (even though you arethe troll). The scriptures say:

Mic. 7:18 Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love (to show mercy).

His being and not your acts prompt God’s love for you. It’s too late to earn His love because He loved you when you were hardened and contrary.

Rom. 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus’ disposition to forgive you of your sins is triggered by His love, not your faith. His Love inspired itself towards you long before your faith realized it. Jesus told the woman with the checkered past:

John 4:10 Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

If you know the love of God it will embolden you to ask of Him. For God’s love reveals His heart to us, dispels our fears and puts us in direct contact with His presence. Love begets courage and confidence because love KNOWS intimately what knowledge only imagines. Knowing about God will never satisfy you. So open your heart and ask Him to help you know His love for YOU.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Stay On The Path!

Tags: A list of devotionals by chronological order, Challenge, Conviction & Encouragement by Nick Champlin
No Comments »